PABLO, MONTANA 59855 ISSN: 0528-8592
b/o SKY Country
ESALISH^ND D'ORI ELLES
VOLUME 10 NUMBER *3
Losing ground in Montana
FULL MOON OF WE BUTTERCUPS
APRIL i, 1981
Crows lose 20th century 'battle of the Bighorn'
The U.S Supreme Court ruled March 24 that neither the Crow Indian Tribe of southern Montana nor the federal government owns the Bighorn River as it flows through the tribe's 2.3 million-acre reservation. The State of Montana owns it, the justices say.
Many years in the fighting, the Crow claim was based on the opinion that two federal treaties signed in 1851 and 1868 gave the tribe jurisdiction over its lands and the water flowing through them. A federal court ruled against tribal jurisdiction in 1975, but the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed that
ruling.
The U.S. Supreme court reversed the second ruling claiming that the riverbed became the feds' when the reservation was formed. When Montana became a state, it became owner of riverbed and the banks.
The vote for state jurisdiction was 6 to 3. The dissenting judges—Justices William J. Brennan Jr., Harry A. Blackman and Thurgood Marshall—based their votes on the Supreme Court ruling that Indian treaties have"to be construed 'in the
(Continued on pgge two)
State Legislature hears testimony on control of tribal resources
The State Legislature of Montana recently made two moves that bebe its intention of working together with local Indian tribes on issues affecting both entities.
Two joint House/Senate resolutions have been introduced that support the notion that the management of tribally-owned water resources should be turned over to non-Indians.
The first, HJR 18, urges "that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission re-license the Kerr Dam Hydroelectric Project to the Montana Power Company". The document asserts that "...Montana Power Company owns the Kerr Dam Hydro-electric Project" and that if the company isn't granted a new license, the state's electrical consumers will
Legal aid may fade away
The Montana Legal Aid Association is faced with extinction by 1982. In the meantime, the network of 13 legal clinics for poor people is being threatened with a 50% funding cut right now. A 15-member board was scheduled to convene March 28 to discuss which offices may have to be closed.
The MLAA sponsors an office in Pablo for eligible low-income Indians.
suffer, as will the tax bases of two counties. The resolution doesn't mention the Tribes' bid for the dam license; it only brings out the detrimental effects of federal control.
After being tipped off about the resolution, Executive Secretary Fred Houle, Jr., testified before the state lawmakers in behalf of the Tribes, in opposition of HJR 18. (His testimony, and that of E.W. Morigeau, follow this article.)
The second resolution, HJR 53, encourages Interior
Continued on page K)
Inside this issue
Budget woes..................................Page 2
Guest editorial................................Page 3
"Letter to the Editor"..........................Page 7
Scenes from a circus......................Pages 8 and 9
SKCC spring schedule.................begins on Page 14
April calendar................................Page 20
Council Minutes..............................Page 26